This invention relates to the conversion of a conventional bed, particularly a child's bed, into a play area by providing the bed with an enclosure which changes its appearance to incorporate a theme conducive to related play activities.
A preliminary search has established that the prior art includes many examples of beds for children which incorporate a particular theme, such as a house (Rudy U.S. Pat. No. 3,188,661 of 1965), a stagecoach (Santine, No. Des. 203,656 of 1966), a Teddy Bear (Thomas, No. Des.216,666 of 1970), a basketball court (Carter, No. Des. 252,599 of 1979), a truck (Rutar, No. Des. 253,259 of 1979 and Sutherland, No. Des. 264,773 of 1982), and a spacecraft (Jao, No. Des. 284,334 of 1986). In all of these patents, however, the structural components which provide the bed with a particular appearance are also structural components of the bed itself or require mechanical combination with structural components of the bed. The present invention is based on a distinctively different concept and/or approach, as discussed in the following section.